Suella Braverman will order Met police chief Sir Mark Rowley to respond with the “full force of the law” in response to pro-Palestinian protesters chanting “jihad”, a minister has said.
The Home Secretary will make it clear that police must “take tough action against anyone who breaks the law”, but police said no wrongdoing was found in a video of a Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in London on Saturday, which showed a man chanting: “Jihad”.
Speaking to Times Radio, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the clip “will be of interest to a lot of people” and added: “The Home Secretary will make clear that the Government believes the full force of the law must be applied.”
“The police have operational independence, which I think is appropriate, and they will have to explain the reasons for the decisions they make,” he added.
A source close to Ms Braverman said: “The Home Secretary is already meeting with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner tomorrow to discuss the ongoing protests between Israel and the Gaza Strip and will seek an explanation for the response to Saturday’s incidents.”
“There is no place for incitement to hatred or violence on the streets of Britain and, as the Home Secretary has made clear, the police will be asked to take tough action against anyone who breaks the law.”
Home Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Sunday that uttering the word on the streets of the capital was “incitement to terrorist violence”.
He added: “This is something we want to discuss with them and discuss this incident with them.”
The chants were heard during a protest by the Islamist fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which took place separately from the main pro-Palestinian march in central London.
Video on social media shows a man speaking into a microphone in front of a banner that reads “Muslim armies!” Save the people of Palestine.”
The keynote speaker asks, “What is the solution to freeing people from a Palestinian concentration camp?”
A man standing next to the speaker, but not at the podium or speaking into a microphone, can then be heard chanting words such as “jihad,” as can several other protesters.
Other clips from the same protest broadcast posted on social media show speakers using a microphone to talk about a “solution” to “jihad.”
The Met responded to the post on social media, saying the word “jihad” has “multiple meanings” and that counter-terrorism officers had not identified any offenses linked to the specific clip.
“Professionals reviewed the video and found no violations arising from a specific video. We also sought the advice of specialist lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service, who came to the same conclusion,” the statement said.
“However, officials recognized how this type of speech would be interpreted by the public and how divisive it would be. “Officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to prevent similar shouting incidents from happening again.”
Jihad can mean struggle or effort and be used in a spiritual or moral context, but it is also understood as a reference to “holy war” and the struggle to defend Islam, using violence if necessary.
The Met estimates around 100,000 people gathered in central London on Saturday for a major march in solidarity with Palestinian civilians. The demonstration was separate from a smaller demonstration organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The Met said more than 1,000 officers watched the main demonstration near Downing Street and 10 arrests were made in connection with possession of fireworks, public order and an alleged assault on an emergency worker.
Source: I News
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